Head of school must be at helm of PPA- Central PC

The Central Provincial Council has issued a Circular t h at a l l Pa s t P u p i l s ' Associations ( PPA) should be headed by the Head of the respective school, to ensure that a proper auditing process is followed in the accounts.

A similar Circular was issued by the Ministry of Education ( MoE) of the Central Government, but in certain instances the directive has not been followed.

There were mixed reactions about the directive, with some PPAs claiming it is better to have a past pupil at the helm, as they are more enthusiastic about running such organisations, while others believe it is better to have the Head in charge of the association, as proper accounting procedures will be followed.

of teachers, there could be other disparities created with other services, creating other issues.

He said that salaries of public sector employees have been increased since 2015, under which the teachers too have benefited.

He said that, in 2015, a Grade I teacher was paid Rs 21,750 without allowances, which has now increased to Rs 44,950 without allowances, while with allowances it goes beyond Rs 60,000. Grade II salaries have gone up from 18,950 to 39,175 without allowances, while with allowances it is around Rs 50,000.

He said the allowance of Rs 750 for principals has been raised to Rs 6,500, and there has been other similar increases.

Minister Kariyawasam said he hopes to soon disclose the details of the salary increases and allowance increased for teachers in recent years.

The comments came in the wake of threats by teacher unions to resort to strike action in the next term.

Ceylon Teachers Services Union Mahinda Jayasinghe said they have placed the demands about two months back and, as they have not got a clear response so far, they would go on strike, which would last for several days.

He said they have already sent their demands to the President and the Finance Ministry as well, but have so far failed to draw a response.